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Is ‘House of the Dragon’ ending with Season 4? Showrunner shares update on HBO’s plan

Series co-creator and showrunner, Ryan Condal, states that he has a set timeline in his mind about 'House of the Dragon.'

Ryan Condal has announced when the war between Team Black and Team Green will conclude. In a December interview with 'Escape Hatch,' Condal, who is the creator, lead writer, and primary showrunner of HBO's 'House of the Dragon,' shared that there is indeed a set timeline in his mind. The showrunner stated that Season 4 will be the 'last' installment in the Targaryen saga. During a recent conversation with Entertainment Weekly, he repeated his claims. "I can't speak for everybody else involved with the show and HBO and all that, but, yes, that is very much my plan," he shared. It is to be noted that neither HBO nor any other party involved in the show has backed these claims. 

On 'Escape Hatch,' Condal talked about fans' excitement about the upcoming season and how heartening it was for him. "It's good. It's definitely, like, turned a big page here," Condal said about Season 3. "And now, also knowing there's only, you know, one more left to go and feeling like we can leave it all out on the field, you know, because we've started the writing process for Season 4, which will be the last one. So, yeah, it's all trending up in a good way." It was the first time Condal spoke about Season 4 being the last, but fans have long speculated that to be the case, judging by how far into the source material the show has reached. 

'House of the Dragon' is based on George R.R. Martin's 2018 fictional history novel, 'Fire & Blood.' In Season 2, Prince Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) takes over the Iron Throne after fatally injuring his brother in the Battle at Rook's Rest. It also covers the skirmish at Burning Hill, where Team Black emerges victorious. At the end, Alicent (Olivia Cooke) reaches out to Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) and promises to give her safe passage to the capital in return for less bloodshed. It is being speculated that the upcoming season will cover 'Battle of the Gullet' and probably the 'Fall of King's Landing,' when Rhaenyra is finally crowned as the supreme ruler. If the show follows the novel, then the remaining source material can be fitted into one or two seasons, taking into consideration its usual episode order.

HBO, though, can take a different reaction, as the show's first two seasons remain the most-watched current series on the network. As shared in the podcast, work on Season 4 has already begun. Considering Condal is promoting Season 4 as the last one, he is mapping it out as the concluding chapter. Hence, if HBO wants to take a different direction, they need to make a call soon. Otherwise, it can be assumed that the network also favors Season 4 as the last and is waiting for a bigger event to announce its decision. 'House of the Dragon' will debut Season 3 on HBO and HBO Max on June 21.